Refurbed, the marketplace for refurbished electronics promoting sustainable consumption, has raised $17 million (approx €15.5 million) in Series A round of equity financing from a group of reputable international investors.
The lead investor of the round was Evli Growth Partners from Finland along with US-based Almaz Capital and FJ Labs, Spanish Bonsai Partners, and All Iron Ventures. Existing investors Klaus Hofbauer and Inventure Partners also participated.
If you are not aware, Refurbed is an online marketplace for refurbished electronic products that are like-new. The company’s primary goal is to promote sustainable business and circular economy by offering only refurbished goods.
Founded in 2017, the Austrian company currently operates in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Poland, serving more than 150,000 European customers.
The sales grew over 5-fold in 2019, while the company posted more than $45 million (approx €41 million) in gross merchandising value (GMV). This year, Refurbed aims to reach more than $100 million (approx €91 million) in GMV.
Peter Windischhofer, one of Refurbed’s founders, said:
Our mission is to bring at least one refurbished product in every European household and fundamentally change the way we consume as a society.
Kilian Kaminski and Jürgen Riedl, who complete Refurbed’s founding team added:
This funding is the next big step on our journey towards our ambitious goal. We’ll use the funding to open up several new European markets.
Riku Asikainen, Founder and Managing Partner of Evli Growth Partners:
Even though the Finnish startup scene has developed significantly during the last decade, we haven’t had the capacity to lead international venture and growth capital financing rounds in Finland. However, I think this is necessary in order to build up our knowledge and networks to the major foreign investors and to, eventually, have more capital available to the best companies in the region. Refurbed’s financing round is one of the largest European equity funding rounds led by a Finnish investor and, thus, I believe it’s a big step forward for the whole Finnish startup ecosystem.
Evli Growth Partners is a Finnish venture and growth capital fund, investing minority investments in Nordic and European growth companies. The funding program of €200 million is backed by five serial entrepreneurs who offer support and funding for growth companies in their scaling.
Kim Väisänen, Growth Partner in Evli Growth Partners:
We want to back companies that are building a truly better and more sustainable future. We think being environmentally friendly and sustainable is essential for a business to become highly successful. In particular, the youth of today is very open-minded for refurbished products. Refurbed is founded to build a more sustainable future, and their strong vision is encoded deep in the company culture. We have followed the company closely since Slush 2018, and, after meeting them again in Slush 2019, the discussions moved forward very rapidly.
Main image credits: Refurbed
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